Firewhisky
by carcrasheart
Summary: Hermione struggles to find happiness after the war has ended. Inspired by the song The Fourth Drink Instinct by Cute Is What We Aim For. oneshot.


**Firewhisky**

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just playing with them for a while

A/N: This was inspired by the song The Fourth Drink Instinct by Cute Is What We Aim For. Please read & review.

**She Thought She Could Buy Happiness By The Bottle**

After the war ended and Harry defeated Voldemort, Hermione was finally able to live her own life. She suddenly found herself with a lot of time on her hands. She no longer had endless hours of research or had to rush off to help save the world. School was over and now she just wanted to have fun, be a normal teenager, and finally be _happy._

But how was she going to find this elusive happiness? Before, she had found it in books and homework, but now she wanted a well-deserved break from all that.

One night, Hermione stumbled into the Leaky Cauldron while on her search for happiness. She walked over to the bar and sat on one of the stools.

"What'll it be Hermione?" Tom asked.

"I … don't know," She glanced up at the bar's extensive menu. Hermione had been in the Leaky Cauldron many times but she had never ordered from the bar. In fact, she didn't have much experience with alcohol at all. She was of age and decided it was about time she tried some. So she ordered the first familiar item on the menu. "Firewhisky."

Tom brought her a tall glass filled with reddish-orange liquid. She just stared at it for a while then she brought the glass to her lips and took her first sip. She gagged as it went down her throat. It tasted like nothing she'd ever tasted before. It was appropriately named, she felt as though she had just swallowed a fireball, and she liked it.

She took another sip, and another, and another. Soon the glass was empty and she ordered a new one. She downed it in a few big gulps. After her fourth drink, she was slurring her words. She stumbled out of the bar door, dazed. She wandered around Diagon Alley pausing only to empty her stomach into a trashcan.

She had found her happiness, alcohol. But, the problem with alcohol … and happiness is that it's addicting.

**He's Concerned **

One night Hermione ran into Draco Malfoy at the Leaky Cauldron. At first she was stunned. '_Had he always been that beautiful?'_ She wondered what a _Malfoy_ was doing in the rundown pub.

He walked up to the bar and sat right next to her. She looked away as he ordered his own glass of Firewhisky. Then he turned towards her and said, "Hi."

After the war Draco had been cleared of all charges. He was loyal to the light side and she was a little tipsy, so she decided to give him a chance. "H-hello," she stuttered.

They talked for hours about everything and nothing at all. They quickly became friends. Hermione never knew that they shared so many interests.

By the end of the night Hermione was completely wasted. Draco helped her to his car. Her last conscious thoughts were, _'Wow, he owns a car! A muggle invention!' _She passed out before he even shut the door. He had no idea where she lived, so he took her to his apartment.

When Hermione woke up she was in an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar bed. At first she panicked. She looked down to make sure she still had her clothes on. Then the night before came flooding back to her. _'This must be Draco's house.'_

She walked into the living room and saw him sleeping on a plush green couch. He looked so peaceful that she didn't want to disturb him. She tiptoed around the couch and into the kitchen. She began to make breakfast.

She was just setting the plates down on the table when Draco walked into the kitchen. "Morning Hermione." He yawned and stretched.

"Good morning… err afternoon. I was just about to wake you." He blinked sleepily as she set a cup of coffee on the table. He smiled up at her appreciatively.

"Thanks for making breakfast," he said as she sat down. "It smells delicious."

"Well thank you for letting me stay the night." They talked all afternoon and Hermione realized that she liked Draco even when she was sober.

Hermione was currently best friend-less since the golden trio had gone their separate ways (Harry married Ginny and Ron became a pro quidditch player). Draco seemed like the perfect man to fill the position so they quickly became best friends.

Almost every day Hermione and Draco hung out and every night Hermione went out drinking. Some nights Draco accompanied her but usually he just stayed home waiting for her to call. She always did, and he was always there to hold back her hair as she vomited into his toilet.

Hermione eventually upgraded from the Leaky Cauldron to fancier clubs and bars, and she tried a variety of different beers and cocktails. Draco worried about her a lot. Occasionally he tried to distract her with things like movies and plays, but she was always drinking again the next night. A few times he confronted her about her drinking and begged her to stop, but she insisted that it wasn't a problem. So, all he could do was be there for her when she needed him the most.

**A One Night Stand **

One night Hermione didn't call. Draco was worried. He stayed up late waiting by the phone. Finally he called her but it went straight to voicemail, he left a message saying to call him back. Eventually he drifted to sleep in his armchair.

Hermione was already on her third drink when she saw him. A beautiful stranger, they locked eyes from across the room. He weaved his way through the crowd and introduced himself. "Hey I'm Spencer," a name she would soon forget. "Wanna dance?"

Hermione happily obliged. They danced for hours, until the early morning. Finally he led her to the door and they disapperated.

They went to the Leaky Cauldron. Spencer led her to the counter and asked for a room. Tom handed over the key then he recognized Hermione. "Hermione?" She nodded. "Are you sure you wanna go up there?" The old bartender asked, eyeing Spencer suspiciously.

"Of course!" Hermione gushed, clearly inebriated. She took Spencer's hand and he led her up the stairs.

When Hermione awoke she didn't know where she was. She peered around the room and remembered she was in the Leaky Cauldron. Then she noticed the empty space next to her and she broke down.

When Draco woke up he panicked. He quickly got dressed and was about to rush over to Hermione's house when he heard pounding on his door. He ran to open it and found himself with an armful of sobbing Hermione.

All she would say was "He's gone," over and over again. Draco asked who 'he' was but Hermione just cried. He led her to the couch. She cried on his shoulder while he stroked her hair. It hurt him to see her in so much pain.

The next night it happened again, and the next night, and the night after that. Soon it became a regular occurrence. Every night Hermione went home with a different guy, and every morning she woke up to an empty bed. It always shattered her to find 'him' gone.

Every morning she told Draco, "This one seemed so different." Every morning he nodded like he understood and stroked her hair affectionately. He always comforted her, even though he disagreed.

**So Very, Very Brave**

Hermione rose from the couch as the screen faded to black and credits appeared. She had spent the day at Draco's apartment watching a marathon of their favorite muggle movies.

"Just one more," Draco begged.

"I really should be going now." She crossed the room and gathered her things.

"Hermione…" He said wistfully. She turned to look at him. "Um, have a nice night." She smiled at him and opened the door. "Wait!" He ran to her and pulled her close. Time seemed to stop as he stared into her warm eyes. He bent down and kissed her, slowly, chastely.

She gasped and deepened the kiss. She shut the door with her foot and hurried to his bedroom. He quickly followed. They fell back onto the bed and he whispered against her skin, "I love you so much. I've always loved you."

"I-I love you too!"

The next morning she woke up and refused to open her eyes. It was too good to be true. She laid there until she felt him stirring next to her. She hesitantly peeked out of her lashes. She almost sobbed when she found Draco smiling back at her.

Hermione had found real happiness: true love. It was a thousand times better than any one night stand. She loved Draco with all of her heart. She stopped drinking too. Except for the occasional glass of wine during a candlelit dinner, Draco was quite the romantic.

**FIN**

A/N: review!


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